All Topics  
Highest Alemannic German

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Highest Alemannic German
 
 
  Topics Highest Alemannic German Topic Home

Highest Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic dialects
Alemannic German

Alemannic German is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries, including southern Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy....
 and belongs to the German language
German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
, even though mutual intelligibility
Mutual intelligibility

In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is recognized as a relationship between languages in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand each other without intentional study or extraordinary effort....
 with Standard German
Standard German

Standard German is the standard language of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas....
 and other non-Alemannic German dialects is very limited.

Highest Alemannic dialects are spoken in alpine
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
 regions of Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
: In the Bernese Oberland
Bernese Oberland

The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the south of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps ....
, in the German-speaking parts of the Canton of Fribourg
Canton of Fribourg

The Canton of Fribourg is a Cantons of Switzerland of Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country. The capital of the canton is Fribourg....
, in the Valais
Valais

The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of Switzerland, around the valley of the Rh?ne from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps....
 (see Walliser German
Walliser German

The Walliser German is a group of Highest Alemannic German dialects spoken in Switzerland, specifically in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Valais , in the uppermost Rh?ne River valley....
) and in the Walser
Walser

The Walser are German language-speaking people who live in the Alps of Swiss Alps, Italy, Liechtenstein and Austria. The Walser people are named after the Valais , the uppermost Rh?ne River valley....
 settlements (mostly in Switzerland, but also in Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 and in Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
; see Walser German
Walser German

The Walser language, in German language Walserdeutsch, is a group of Highest Alemannic German dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria....
). In the West, the South and the South-East, they are surrounded by Romance languages; in the North, by High Alemannic
High Alemannic German

High Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic German and is considered a German dialect, even though they are only partly intelligible to non-Alemannic German speakers....
 dialects.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Highest Alemannic German'
Start a new discussion about 'Highest Alemannic German'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Highest Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic dialects
Alemannic German

Alemannic German is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language. It is spoken by approximately ten million people in six countries, including southern Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, and Italy....
 and belongs to the German language
German language

German is a West Germanic languages, thus related to and classified alongside English language and Dutch language. It is one of the world's world language and the most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union....
, even though mutual intelligibility
Mutual intelligibility

In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is recognized as a relationship between languages in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand each other without intentional study or extraordinary effort....
 with Standard German
Standard German

Standard German is the standard language of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas....
 and other non-Alemannic German dialects is very limited.

Highest Alemannic dialects are spoken in alpine
Alps

The Alps is the name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
 regions of Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
: In the Bernese Oberland
Bernese Oberland

The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the south of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps ....
, in the German-speaking parts of the Canton of Fribourg
Canton of Fribourg

The Canton of Fribourg is a Cantons of Switzerland of Switzerland. It is located in the west of the country. The capital of the canton is Fribourg....
, in the Valais
Valais

The Valais is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland in the southwestern part of Switzerland, around the valley of the Rh?ne from its headwaters to Lake Geneva, separating the Pennine Alps from the Bernese Alps....
 (see Walliser German
Walliser German

The Walliser German is a group of Highest Alemannic German dialects spoken in Switzerland, specifically in the German-speaking part of the Canton of Valais , in the uppermost Rh?ne River valley....
) and in the Walser
Walser

The Walser are German language-speaking people who live in the Alps of Swiss Alps, Italy, Liechtenstein and Austria. The Walser people are named after the Valais , the uppermost Rh?ne River valley....
 settlements (mostly in Switzerland, but also in Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 and in Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
; see Walser German
Walser German

The Walser language, in German language Walserdeutsch, is a group of Highest Alemannic German dialects spoken in Walser settlements in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria....
). In the West, the South and the South-East, they are surrounded by Romance languages; in the North, by High Alemannic
High Alemannic German

High Alemannic is a branch of Alemannic German and is considered a German dialect, even though they are only partly intelligible to non-Alemannic German speakers....
 dialects. In the swiss canton of Grison are only the Walser exclaves in the romansh part and the Prättigau
Prättigau

The Pr?ttigau Valley, in the canton of Graub?nden , Switzerland, is home to the world famous ski resorts of Klosters and neighbouring Davos in the Landwasser Valley....
, Schanfigg and Davos
Davos

Davos is a Municipalities of Switzerland in the district of Pr?ttigau/Davos in the cantons of Switzerland of Graub?nden, Switzerland.It is located on the Landwasser River, in the Swiss Alps, between the Plessur Range and Albula Range....
 highest alemannic, the rhine valley with Chur and Engadin are high alemannic.

Features

The distinctive feature of the Highest Alemannic dialects is the lack of hiatus
Hiatus (linguistics)

Hiatus in linguistics is the separate pronunciation of two adjacent vowels, sometimes with an intervening glottal stop. In poetic metre , hiatus can also refer to the failure of two vowels straddling a word boundary to coalesce, for example by elision of the first vowel....
 diphthong
Diphthong

In phonetics, a diphthong, or , is a contour vowel?that is, a unitary vowel that changes vowel quality during its pronunciation, or "glides", with a glissando of the tongue from one articulation to another, as in the English words eye, boy, and cow. This contrasts with "pure" vowels, or monophthongs, where the tongue is held s...
ization, for instance 'to snow', 'to build' vs. High Alemannic , .

Many High Alemannic dialects have different verb
Verb

In syntax, a verb is a word that usually denotes an action , an occurrence , or a state of being . Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its grammatical tense, grammatical aspect, grammatical mood and grammatical voice....
al plural endings for all three persons, for instance wir singe(n) 'we sing', ir singet 'you (plural) sing', si singent 'they sing'. Almost all other German dialects use the same ending for the first and third persons in the plural.

There are High Alemannic dialects that have preserved the ending -n which has been dropped in most Upper German
Upper German

Upper German is a family of High German languages dialects spoken primarily in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy....
 dialects.

The Highest Alemannic dialects are considered to be the most conservative dialects of German. The dialect of the Lötschental
Lötschental

The L?tschental is the largest valley on the northern side of the Rh?ne River valley in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It lies in the Bernese Alps, with the river Lonza running down the length of the valley from its source within the Langgletscher....
, for instance, preserved the three distinct classes of weak verbs
Germanic weak verb

In Germanic languages, including English language, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group....
 (like in Old High German
Old High German

The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of Old High German proper to 750 for this reason...
) until the beginning of the 20th century.

External links

  • (Haslital
    Haslital

    File:Oberhasli-coat of arms.svgFile:5949 - Meiringen viewed from the Rothorn - Meiringen Air Force Base.jpgFile:Joseph Anton Koch 003.jpgFile:Rosenlauigletscher.jpg...
     Swiss German poetry)